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The VRA has been effectively gutted over the years, leaving only Section 2 (redistricting) and Section 11 (suppression/intimidation) as meaningful legal paths for remedy under the statute. SCOTUS heard a case about Section 2 this week. Here’s the backstory.
Following the 2020 Census, in 2022, Louisiana adopted a new 6-district congressional map with only one majority-black district, despite roughly one-third of the state’s population being black. Black voters sued, claiming the map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), and Judge Shelly Dick agreed and ordered the creation of a second majority-Black district.
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Judge Dick’s decision, giving Louisiana until Jan. 15, 2024 to produce a compliant map. So, Louisiana drew a map with two majority-Black districts. Then a group of “non-African American” voters challenged the court=ordered map as unconstitutional racial gerrymandering under the 14th Amendment. A three-judge district court agreed and blocked the map for future elections.
In May of 2024, the Supreme Court put the lower court’s order on hold, allowing Louisiana to use the 2024 map for that year’s elections.
A Law for a Different Time
The high court agreed to hear oral arguments in the Spring of this year, and that oral argument took place Wednesday.
It was rough.
Can the government discriminate on the basis of race in providing remedy to discrimination on the basis of race? Turns out, it depends:
If you’re thinking that’s racist, you’re wrong – and Justice Jackson wants you to just trust her about that:
Now consider that, in this next clip, the Justice is Puerto Rican, the lawyer is Indian, the petitioners are “non-African American,” and the subject of the case is about Black representation. Just thought that was notably diverse.
Yikes.
It got even more comical than that last faceplant, when NAACP lawyer Janai Nelson made the argument that white DEMOCRATS don’t vote for Black candidates as a foundation for why there needs to be a second district:
The obsession with race has made everything retarded (and even more racist). For example, Justice Jackson — I believe inadvertently — argued that Blackness is akin to a disability.
The effort to keep the Voting Rights Act despite the cause of its creation being moot has led to unintelligible civil rights laws.
This hearing is two and a half hours, but it’s worth the time. At the Supreme Court, you cannot just call everyone racist and claim dog whistles and get your way – you actually have to argue your position.
It’s illuminating.
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The post The Fate Of The Voting Rights Act appeared first on Colorado Free Press.